Child of the De Danann (Rewrite)
by TheSilverboar
Summary: A Wrong BWL story where Harry and his only friend are sent back in time by their trainers to find a pair of allies to help them change their fate and save the fate of their home. (I know the summary sucks but i couldn't think of a good one)
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I decided to rewrite this as I felt that I didn't do a very good job with the first chapter.**

 **AN2: In this story you start Hogwarts at sixteen (that way I could actually use the ages shown in the movies)**

 **AN3: The name of Harry's spear, the Gae Bolga, is pronounced 'Gah Bowl-Gah'…just wanted to point that out.**

Child of the De Danann 1

Chapter 1

-Merida-

Walking back to the castle she sighed as she gazed at the small, innocent looking cake that the witch had given her. "How can something this small change my fate?" she asked herself as she continued walking along, Angus trotting by her side.

Hearing a yell she looked up to see her parents standing next to the other Lords and their own heirs just outside the gates, her parents gazing at her in relief, the lords with irritation, and the heirs with pity. She was about to try and think up a cover story to get her mum to eat the cake, while also wondering if she should even be trying to change her mum, when she heard her father yell out "Run Merida!" as she could hear the fear in his voice.

That alone shocked her as she froze, having never known her father to feel fear, when she heard a loud huff and felt hot air blow across her neck as she spun around to see the demon bear Mor'du lumbering out of the woods and towards her. With a scream she ran towards the castle and the protection of her father and the guards, cursing her lack of a weapon as Angus thundered alongside her but not even her loyal horse's hoof steps could drown out the lumbering quakes of the demon bear charging her down. With a yell her foot caught a loose stone as she was sent tumbling to the ground, the cake rolling away from her as Angus kept on running, not realizing that she had fallen.

As she lay on the ground, unable to move with her hurt ankle, she saw Mor'du raise up on its hind paws, roaring in challenge at her but, before it could end her life, a man with shoulder length red hair and gleaming bright blue eyes leapt onto Mor'du's back and put the beast into a choke hold. As this happened a beautiful woman with pitch black hair going down to the small of her back stepped out of the woods and trained an arrow on the bear's one good eye. As the fight went on between the man and the bear she saw the new woman frown before her eyes, once a dark black, glowed blood red before she cursed loudly. "Cuchulain!" the woman yelled causing Merida as well as all those running towards the fight to freeze and look at the man in awe, "It's a human under the torture!".

' _That's the Hound of Ulster?'_ she thought to herself as she watched the man work _'I thought he was just a myth!'._

"Damn!" the revealed Cuchulain snarled, "Throw me my staff!" as the still red eyed woman ran over to a pair of bags at the tree line and grabbed and threw a six foot staff made of blood red wood that was capped by a carved wolf's head which held a blue gem, the same color as the man's eyes, in its mouth. As it soared through the air she watched Cuchulain yell in defiance before jumping off the bear's back, catching the staff in the air before slamming the butt of it into the ground, a glowing quaternary spreading out from that point encompassing both man and bear.

She had never heard a sound quite like the one Mor'du made as it screamed, standing on its hind legs and thrashing about as black mist poured out of the bear's mouth, eyes, ears, and nose, flying high into the air as it tried to escape the circle only to be incinerated by the glowing lines. With each bit of mist that left the bear she saw it shrink more and more until it was no longer a bear but a man with long black hair going down past his waist and wearing tattered clothing.

"Morrigan," Cuchulain called out as she looked at the woman in shock "come. We have to find whoever cast this curse and kill them. I can't tell where they are but I could tell from the curses power that whoever did it is still alive. As the man turned to gaze at her and her family, who had reached them by this point, the man's eyes locked onto the cake that she had, once again, picked up as the calm blue eyes glowed with a violence akin to the Morrigan's. "Where did you get that cake?" Cuchulain asked in a calm tone that still sent shudders down her spine at the raw power it contained.

Shaking slightly she pointed into the words and stammered out one word, "W-witch." As Cuchulain's eyes hardened.

Spinning around Cuchulain whirled the staff about as it shrunk down to a small rod which was slipped into one of the bags she had seen as he growled out "Come on Morrigan, we have a witch to kill.". Her eyes still locked on the two figures straight out of legend she saw Cuchulain grab a spear that was propped up against a tree and she gasped. Where before the spear had been a solid piece of ordinary steel but the moment Cuchulain touched it the metal began to glow with an ethereal light. "Watch him and make sure he doesn't go anywhere but don't hurt him, I don't know how long he was under that curse." Cuchulain ordered them, pointing at the man that had once been Mor'du before he and the Morrigan turned and walked off into the forest. Just before they disappeared into the shadows Cuchulain yelled back over his shoulder "And don't eat that damn cake!".

-Cuchulain (Harry)-

"How the hell did they do it?" he asked his companion as they moved through the trees, following the faint 'scent' of magic as they made their way towards the only witch native to the area, "I didn't know anyone could turn the Transmogrifian Torture into a potion.".

"It would take a genius at the art," his companion Morrigan said with a scowl "and from what we've seen. All potions geniuses are insane crackpots.".

"Yeah," he said with a sigh as he gazed up at the stars through a break in the trees "it's almost time for us to go back…to have to see _them_ again. It's been three years since we left and while I'm sure they tried to find you I doubt they even told anyone i was gone or tried to look for me.". Sighing Morrigan reached over and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder as he remembered back to how they had gotten to where they were now…back when he had been Harry Potter and she had been Morag MacDougal.

-Flashback-

Sitting at the table next to his only friend, Morag, he glared across at his parents and his 'brother' Marcus. It had been twelve years since the defeat of Voldemort which everyone had accredited to his brother due to the fact that, when Dumbledore and the elder Potters had found them, Marcus' magical core had given off a higher reading, paying no thought to the possibility that his core might have been smaller due to having used power to reflect the damn killing curse. He knew that he was the real 'boy-who-lived' but didn't say anything as nobody would believe him. He knew because he could feel the tainted magic within the scar on his forehead as he was a magical sensor, he could feel different magical signatures and strengths and even track a person if he could lock onto their signature well enough. He never told anyone though because nobody would ever believe that the weak and unwanted son of the Potter family could do anything...well, nobody apart from his first friend anyway.

They had first met in Diagon Alley when his parents had forgotten him and returned home as he was left in the bookstore, looking through books about Celtic Myths and Legends. He was only eight at the time and was having a bit of trouble keeping the myths and gods straight but Morag had been in the store as well that day and had seen what he was reading as well as his confusion. She had come over and sat next to him, helping explain what was going on in each story.

They had been as close as possible after that as Morag didn't' have any friends of her own due to the few people she tried being friends with making fun of her because of her love of studying myths while he wasn't allowed out of the house much as his parents didn't really want to deal with him. After that day though he was constantly going over to Morag's home and she came over to his.

When they had gotten older though, and started going through puberty, he had noticed the looks Marcus had begun sending at Morag more and more and he didn't like them at all. Now though it had all come to a head when Marcus had gone to their parents who, along with Morag's parents, were attempting to force Morag into a marriage contract with Marcus. "I won't go through with it!" she yelled at her parents angrily "And you can't make me!".

"We are your parents and you will obey us!" the Lord MacDougal roared, "The prestige of you marrying the Boy-Who-Lived-".

"I can't stand the bloody fool!" Morag screamed, cutting the man off "I hate him and his attitude! I won't go through with this!".

"As long as you are a part of my house you will obey my decisions." Lord MacDougal thundered "Now be silent and sign the contract for your new husband!".

"Never," Morag hissed as she swiped a wand from the table and intoned "I, Morag Elinor MacDougal, hereby banish myself from the House MacDougal from this point forever more. So I say, so mote it be!".

As the flash of light that ripped through the room blinded the other occupants he grabbed the wand and copied his friend, saying "I, Harry James Potter, hereby banish myself from the House Potter from this point forever more. So I say, so mote it be!" as a second, even larger, pulse of magic ripped forth, this one knocking the others out of their chairs.

"Come on!" he yelled to his friend, grabbing her hand as they took off running "I have an idea!". Getting to the floo room he jumped into the fireplace and held his only friend close, _'please let this work'_ he prayed before grabbing a fistful of floo powder and throwing it down, yelling out "Freedom!" as he thought desperately that he wanted to be taken somewhere safe.

Around and around they spun, each holding tightly the other as they refused to let go to the one person they had left in this world. They saw flashes as they spun past, fireplaces of taverns and homes, shops and schools. He began to wonder if they would ever leave the spinning mass of fire at all when they were suddenly shot out of what looked like a bonfire and into a tree as he used his body to absorb the impact and shield Morag.

"Well Gabha," a woman, or at least she sounded like a woman, said walking over as his vision began to blur more and more as he fought to stay conscious "it looks like we have guests.".

"Please," he pleaded as he lost the fight to stay awake "help…her…" before darkness consumed him.

-End Flashback-

Feeling a hand on his chest he shook himself out of his stupor and saw Morrigan hold up a hand for silence as she peered over the edge of a hill and noted a single arrow, nodding at him to be ready to act. Nodding back he kept his spear low to hide the glow and crept around to the other side of the copse to flank the old hag that he saw just outside of her hut. When he was in position he leapt out and swung hi spear, sending a flurry of glowing barbs out that hit the ground just in front of the witch causing her to startle and try to run away from him only for Morrigan to leap out and aim an arrow at the witch's heart. "Who are you?!" the hag demanded, scrambling to get away from them "What do you want?!".

"We are here to stop you from continuing to use the forbidden magics." He snarled, causing her to pale drastically.

"How do you know of those?" the small witch demanded "I thought I was the only magic use left alive in this land?!"

"We are not from your time," Morrigan said with a piercing glare as she moved forward to block any escape route the old crone might take "we were sent here by a Fomorian Giant and a Sidhe.".

"But soon you won't belong to any time," he said with a glare before aiming his spear at the woman's stomach "for today you shall fall to the might of the Gae Bolga." Before launching his glowing weapon as it pinned the dark witch to her hut as she struggled and gasped, trying to pry the weapon loose but her motions soon grew weak and finally grew still. Giving it another moment he opened up his hand and willed his spear to return as it shot back into his hand, the corpse of the dark witch falling to the ground with a thud.

"Come on Cuchulain, let's look through her hut to see if there's anything important before we head back to the castle. I think that the man you freed is one of the two 'allies' that our trainers asked us to find." Morrigan said softly as she walked up and squeezed his shoulder, both of them doing their best to avoid staring at the dead body as killing, even if it was killing those who were evil…still was a hard thing to do.

Nodding he sighed and pulled her into an embrace as he drew strength from the contact as he knew she did as well, "It still feels odd hearing you call me that," he said softly as they separated "for years I was 'Harry' to you and now I'm 'Cuchulain'.".

"Would you rather I call you Harry?" Morrigan asked softly as they walked into the hut.

"I met you as Harry," he said softly "so…I…I think I'd like to be Harry for you and maybe one or two others who we get close to…but only to them.".

"Alright then…Harry." Morrigan said softly as she kissed his cheek "Then you have to call me Morag as well.".

"Deal." He said as he embraced his friend once again.

-Back at the castle-

As they walked back towards the castle, the witch's hut as well as her corpse nothing more than a smoking crater in the woods, he noticed the large king from earlier point at them and yell as the other 'Royals' charged towards them. "What happened?" the king demanded upon reaching them "And who are you?".

"I am Cuchulain," he explained as he gripped his spear "not the Hound of Ulster from legend but his descendant. This is my companion, Morrigan, who, like me, is only descended of the being you speak of in legend. As for what we did we found the witch who not only turned that man from before into the demon bear but almost did the same to your daughter.".

"How is that possible?" the man with the blue war paint asked in shock "Mor'du has plagued these lands for centuries.

"The man was under a curse known as the 'Transmogrifian Torture' which is impossible to undo and keep the victim alive if you don't know the proper spell like I do.". he explained "And as for how she was alive…she used another magic even more taboo than the torture. She would kidnap people and use a ritual to drain their life force and add it into her own to extend her lifespan. She does the torture as a way of 'entertaining' herself and casts several charms to make people passing by more willing to believe her. The one she did on your daughter would have convinced her that it was a good idea to give that cursed cake to the queen but from what we could tell your daughter was already fighting it off, strong will on that one.".

"Ha ha!" the king laughed "That's my girl!".

"You do not speak as if you were from here." A woman with long brown hair, who he assumed to be the queen, said curiously, "And how did you find out all of this?".

"That's because we're _not_ from here," he explained "or at least not from this time. We fled our homes three years ago and met the Fomorian who forged my ancestor's spear which I now wield, Gabha, and the Sidhe who trained him in how to use it, Scatach. They told us to find a couple of allies in this time before we return to our own to finish off an evil upon our world. A warlock, a magic use, like the witch we just killed only far more powerful. As for how we know these things…the witch kept rather detailed journals.".

"How will you know if you found the right 'ally'?" the red head who had the potion asked him curiously as he tried not to stare at her hair…curse his fascination with redheads!

"Scatach gave us a couple of crystals that glow when handled by the person who is to back with us." Morag answered as he sent her a silent thank you as she smiled and pulled out one of the crystals to show the girl.

"Can I try?" the girl, Merida if his memory from the kings shouting was correct, asked hesitantly as Morag nodded and handed over the gam which began to glow, much like his spear, the moment it was in the girls hands.

"That answers that question," he said with a shrug before turning to the large king who was staring at Merida in grief "where is the man I released from the curse?".

"Inside." the king said softly and led him inside while Morag stayed behind to explain to Merida what things were like in the modern world if she chose to come back with us. "Are you truly going to take my daughter away with you?" the man asked in a defeated tone, likely knowing that his power was too much for the forces within the castle, especially if you added in Scatach and Gabha.

"We were merely sent to give her the offer," he said quickly "it's her decision whether or not to come with us." Which seemed to relieve the man slightly.

"He's in here." The king said, opening a door when they came to a halt "I'll just give you some privacy.".

"Are you the man who freed me from the witch's curse?" the giant of a man asked once he walked in.

"Yes I am," he said with a nod as he pulled out the second crystal "would you be willing to try something for me? I would like for you to hold this gem.".

When the man nodded he placed the gem into the freed man's hands as it glowed just as brightly as the other one had for Merida, "What does that mean?" the man asked in confusion.

"It means that you are one of the two people that my companion and I were sent to find and offer a chance to come back with us to our time to fight a great evil." He explained.

"I was trapped in that form for centuries," the man said with a shudder "there is nothing left for me here…I will go with you and repay my debt…and possibly redeem myself for what I have done.".

"Do you have a name?" he asked the man who frowned as if struggling to remember.

"I…I think it was Aeron…it's been so long that it's hard to remember.".

"Well then Aeron," he said as he clasped arms with his new companion "welcome to our small 'family'. Scatach will give you a unique gift when she arrives in the morning to take us back to our time. So get some rest, you're going to need it.".


	2. Chapter 2

Child of the De Danann

Chapter 2

-Merida-

Waking up with a groan she stretched, hearing the bones in her back pop as she did so, wondering why she had dreamed such a strange dream as she had last night. She had met the heirs of Cuchulain and the Morrigan, seen Mor'du turned into a man, and been offered the chance to go to a new time…to change her fate. Glancing at her bedside table she froze when she saw the crystal from her dream…that she now knew wasn't a dream. She was truly leaving with the heir of Cuchulain today. Before she could continue with her train of thought though a crack of thunder echoed throughout the castle. Glancing at the window she frowned, seeing a bright clear sky but every few seconds a loud boom of thunder would sound out. When she noticed her room shaking with each boom she rushed over to the window and gasped as she saw a giant coming to a halt outside of the gates, a woman standing on its shoulder.

Panicking she grabbed her sword and rushed down the steps to face the threat, seeing other warriors grabbing their own weapons along the way. Once outside though she froze in shock, her blade dropping to the ground with a clang from her limp fingers. Cuchulain and Morrigan, the two she had agreed to go with to change her fate…were happily talking with the giant while hugging the woman who had come with it.

"They did say that they were trained by a Fomorian and a Sidhe," Aeron said next to her causing her to yelp as she hadn't heard the man walk over "you shouldn't be this surprised.".

Blushing as red as her hair she picked up her sword and walked hesitantly towards the group. "Ah, Merida." Cuchulain said upon noticing her causing her to blush, "I'd like you to meet Scatach and Gabha, they're the ones who are going to be taking us back to our time and bringing us here to visit during the summer.".

"Y-you mean she'll be able to come back to visit us?" a shaky voice asked behind her and, turning, she was shocked to see her father standing there with dark bags under his bloodshot eyes.

"Of course we'll bring her back to visit," Cuchulain said aghast "it would be cruel to take your daughter away without ever letting you see her again.".

At those words her father seemed to slump in on himself, looking as if the weight of the world had been taken off his shoulders and she immediately felt guilty, having not taken the time to consider how her leaving would affect her family, only focused on changing her fate. "Now," a voice she didn't recognize spoke up as she turned to see the red haired Sidhe walking over "while I've agreed to give Aeron here enhanced strength and the ability to turn into his bear form at will I haven't had the chance to choose a special gift for Merida. She gulped when the beautiful woman began to inspect her as she felt as if the Sidhe was gazing into her very soul before the woman smirked "But I think I have the perfect gift in mind. Step forward you two.".

Somewhat hesitantly she did as she was told as the woman placed a hand on each of their foreheads before a red aura left the Sidhe's body and entered hers and Aeron's, causing her to gasp and shudder as a feeling that could only be described as _power_ entered her veins. "W-what happened?" she asked in shock.

"Well for starters I gave you both magic," Scatach said with a shrug while she gaped at the Sidhe, an action that was being copied by most, if not all, of her family "you'll need it where you're going. The second thing was that I gave both Aeron and yourself our special powers. While he has his strength and his demon bear form your ability is to control fire.

"F-fire?!" she stammered as the Sidhe smirked at her. Looking down at her hands she concentrated on the power she felt rushing through her veins as her hands burst into flames for a few seconds before spluttering out.

"It'll take a little while to get the hang of your gifts," Scatach said with a shrug "so practice often.".

"What are their gifts?" Aeron asked, pointing at Cuchulain and Morrigan.

"Cuchulain has his spear," Scatach said with a laugh as the Sidhe threw an arm around a grinning Cuchulain's shoulder as she tried not to frown, confused about the feeling of jealousy that welled up within her "and Morrigan here can control birds, ravens and crows work the best though.".

"So what all will they be doing?" her mother asked, curiosity clearly evident in her voice, peaking her own interest as well as she tried not to look too curious.

"Well for starters they'll have to go to a School for Magic for seven years as that's a focal point for the events of the future," Scatach said with a grin causing her to groan with misery along with her new companions "but their main mission is to stop a powerful sorcerer who has managed to defy death and kill the abomination he has become, as well as preventing him from stopping his death again.".

"Defied death?!" Aeron asked in shock, something that coursed through her as well "How?".

"He divided his soul," Cuchulain spoke up, disgust clear in his voice as she felt like being sick "we aren't sure where the pieces are or how many exist but we believe there to be six pieces currently in existence.".

"Five," Morrigan spoke up calmly "the one that was trapped in your scar got destroyed, remember.".

"Forgot about that one," Cuchulain said with a nod "five then.".

"But do we have to go to school?" she groaned causing Cuchulain to nod in sympathy while Morrigan rolled her eyes.

"I believe you're forgetting something," Lord Dingwall spoke up, sounding rather angry "your daughter is still supposed to marry my son!".

Before she could retort Cuchulain had his spear pointed between the Lord Dingwall's eyes while the Lords Macintosh and McGuffin quickly backed away from their rapidly paling comrade. "I'm sorry," Cuchulain growled "were you trying to prevent our mission? It is the Lady Merida's decision whether or not to come, not yours. Same with Aeron…" at this point he paused as a blood red aura seeped from his skin "and don't think that I won't stop you if you attempt to force her to stay here. I could easily reduce you to a pile of slag. If I had the aid of Morrigan and our mentors I could probably reduce your castle and forces to ash with ease.".

Before Cuchulain had even finished speaking Morrigan had drawn her bow and pointed an arrow at the Lord while Scatach drew a sword and Gabha hefted a club, all showing quite clearly that they would help him. "Father," Wee Dingwall said, causing the assembled warriors, and drawn weapons, to turn towards the small boy "let her go. I didn't want to marry her anyway, you picker her out.".

The heirs for the Macintosh and McGuffin clans quickly nodded in agreement making her giggle at their terror compared to the Dingwall heir who looked completely calm…or perhaps just oblivious. "Come on Merida," Morrigan said drawing her attention "let's go gather the things you wish to bring. Cuchulain can help gather items for Aeron.".

Nodding quickly she led the dangerous woman towards her quarters, pausing once inside when Morrigan stared at all the weapons that adorned the walls and tables. "Great," Morrigan groaned "you have an unhealthy obsession with weapons…you'll get along a little too well with Cuchulain.".

"What do you mean?" she asked, both confused and indignant.

"Along with that spear of his Cuchulain's room is filled with several varieties of every kind of weapon he could get his hands on," Morrigan told her "he obsesses in gathering new weapons and training with them. I prefer to just stick with my bow and magic.".

Blushing she asked "But what did you mean by 'get along too well'?".

"Let's just say that along with his obsession with weaponry my friend is rather attracted to redheads and leave it at that." Morrigan said before pulling out a small object that grew into a full-sized trunk as she began gathering Merida's dresses. All the while though the Princess of clan DunBroch thought about the powerful warrior…and the images his sister had placed in her head.

"B-but aren't you and he…well…" she trailed off awkwardly as Morrigan looked down and sighed.

"He's my oldest friend Merida," Morrigan said softly "he was always ignored by his family growing up but he was warm and protected, he had a family that could provide for him and resources that would have let him have a good life…he gave all that up to help me. My parents tried forcing me to marry his brother who was a sniveling little coward and so I disowned myself to avoid being forced into the contract. Cuchulain actually disowned himself as well to try and help me get by as he helped me escape and got us to Scatach and Gabha where they gave us a potion that made it as if we were the born children of our namesakes and removed the lineage of our 'parents'. If he asked me to be with him I would say yes in a heartbeat but…I don't know...I don't know if he sees me like that.".

"If he gave up as much as you said he did," she said softly as she laid a hand on the girl's shoulder "then I know you must mean as much to him as he means to you.".

"Thanks Merida," Morrigan said with a small smile as they finished collecting her possessions "we'll get you some more…modern clothes when we get back to our time but this is good for now.".

Nodding she walked down and saw her parents and brothers sitting at the table talking with Cuchulain and Aeron, "Merida," her mother said upon noticing her "we've decided to have breakfast together before you're on your way. The Lords have…decided to return home.".

"They ran away with their tails between their legs when Scatach threatened to choke them to death with their own testicles after the Macintosh heir tried to not only proposition her but make her give him powers." Cuchulain translated blandly as Morrigan laughed and she gave a small wince but giggled all the while as she pictured the heir's face. Shaking her head she sat down and gazed at Cuchulain, wondering once again about the things that Morrigan had told her.

 **AN: Alright, Harry will definitely be paired with Merida in this story, maybe Morag/Morrigan, and possibly Scatach so I would like your opinions on those additions to the main pairing.**


	3. Chapter 3

Child of the De Danann 3

Chapter 3

-Cuchulain/Harry-

"So Cuchulain," the king, Fergus, said as the food was brought to the table "what's your story? And that of your companions? How did yo all meet exactly?". As the king spoke he noticed Aeron, Merida, Elinor, and the three triplets lean forward eagerly, all of them wanting to know the tale as he shot a glance at Morrigan and Scatach who grinned at him.

"Well I met Morrigan when I was eight," he explained "my parents had taken me to the marketplace and forgotten me there so I stayed in the store that sold books and spent my time looking through a book about Scottish Legends and Lore. That's where I met Morrigan as she helped me understand what I was reading and keep all the names separate.".

"An entire store filled with books?" Elinor said with a frown "Was your family incredibly wealthy to be able to shop in such a place?"

"I'm more concerned with the fact that they left an eight year old boy alone and forgot about him." Fergus said with a scowl as the queen flushed at having missed that part.

"While yes my…parents, were wealthy that wasn't the reason we shopped there. Books are rather inexpensive in our time and most people are able to afford them." He explained, having to force out the word 'parents' as he didn't see the Potters as that, nor had he for some time.

"My 'parents' were off at a different store and had left me there after getting the man who was selling the books to keep an eye on me to see to it that I didn't wander off," Morrigan picked up as she squeezed his hand, knowing what he was thinking "And as I was walking around the store I saw this skinny little black haired runt of a boy trying to keep a bunch of new stories straight with a scowl that I couldn't help but laugh at.".

"I honestly thought she was making fun of me at first," he admitted with a sheepish laugh as he rubbed the back of his head "but she sat down next to me and helped me figure out the parts that confused me as we spent the next few hours going through the book as well as others before my 'parents' finally realized I wasn't there and came looking for me.".

"But by that time we were inseparable," Morrigan said with a laugh "neither of us had had a real friend at that point so we bonded rather fast and for the next six years we spent as much time with each other as possible. But…as I spent time with him Cuchulain's 'brother' began to take notice of me in a way that made me want to hurl.".

"You have a brother?" Fergus said, blinking in surprise.

"By birth only," he spat "that bastard is no brother of mine and I would gladly never have to set my eyes on his foul visage again if I was able, the same with the two wretches I was cursed to have been born to.".

"Cuchulain's birth brother lusted after me," Morag explained "and so Cuchulain's birth parents went to mine and tried to force me to marry the bastard so I disowned myself so they couldn't force me to go through with it. My 'father' openly told me that he was more concerned with the 'image' that the family would get and the status we would gain by my being married to a 'hero'. Cuchulain disowned himself as well and helped me escape their grasp as he managed to transport us to Scatach and Gabha who took us in. They gave us each a potion that made it as if we were the born children of the Morrigan or Cuchulain. Before we were known as Morag MacDougal and Hadrian Potter. It's thanks to the potions that we look the way we do now.".

"I had just sat down with Gabha to enjoy dinner," Scatach laughed "I was having a few rabbits while Gabha managed to grab a full deer. Just before we could start to eat though our bonfire turned emerald green as these two shot out, Cuchulain here turning to take the fall and protect Morrigan. He was hurt and injured, seconds from blacking out, and his only words were pleas for me to help Morrigan.".

"Why were your parents so obsessed with forcing you to marry Cuchulain's brother?" Merida asked Morag curiously as the king shot him an appraising eye.

"You remember the sorcerer we told you we were sent to destroy?" Morag asked and, when Merida nodded, continued "Well he was 'destroyed' once before by Cuchulain but doing so drained his magical core. When the leader of the wizard society showed up and tested their strengths he saw that Cuchulain's birth brother's was higher at the moment, Cuchulain's being drained from use, and the credit was given to Marcus, saying that someone with as low as a reading as Cuchulain couldn't have been the one to do the impossible and reflect a curse that kills whoever it touches.".

"That's highly illogical." Elinor said with a frown as he laughed heartily.

"Most witches and wizards don't have an ounce of logic in their heads," he said merrily "they rely too much on their magic and keep their heads in the clouds. That's one of the reasons I train so much with my weapons, it helps keep me grounded in something real so I don't become like those fools…it does make them fun to trick though.".

"You train with many weapons?" Fergus asked him eagerly as Morag sighed.

"Oh boy, here we go." His closest friend groaned as Scatach laughed merrily at the girl's discomfort.

"If it's a weapon and I can get my hands on it I use it," he said with a shrug "but my spear is by far my favorite.".

"How do you like the idea of a little spar later?" Fergus asked eagerly as Morag and Elinor sighed in tandem, both of them pinching the bridge of their nose in irritation.

"Might not be a good idea there old man," he said with a grin as he leaned back in his chair "I'd hate to embarrass you in front of your people.".

At his answer Scatach and Merida both burst out laughed as Elinor scowled at them, "Merida," the queen glowered "a princess does not Chortle!".

"I'd say it was more of a cackle but that's just me." Scatach said with a shrug as he grinned and gave her a high five which confused Elinor, Fergus, Merida, and Aeron…the triplets simply began copying the gesture but 'missed' quite often and slapped each other across the face.

"That's it you mouthy little brat," Fergus scowled but he could see the merriment in the gesture "let's go. A duel of swords.".

"Alright," he said with a shrug as he grabbed a leg of mutton "lead the way.".

"Fergus!" Elinor hissed only to be hushed by Morag "I don't know about your husband but it would take something major to rip Cuchulain away from a fight.". Getting to the courtyard, and subsequently tossing away the stripped bone, he reached into an expanded pouch at his waist and drew out his sword while the King drew one from a weapons rack.

"After you old man." he said with a grin as he and the king began to circle one another, looking for any possible opening they could exploit.

"I'm not old!" the King protested in irritation as the man lunged forward and swung at him as he ducked underneath the slash with ease.

"Then why's your hair going grey?" he asked with a laugh as he danced around the man's blade, knocking it to the side with his own when it came to close.

"I'll show ya grey ya varmint!" the King yelled as the slashes began coming faster as he began to use his sword to block more and more before the duo become a whirling mass of steel.

"This is amazing," Merida said in awe "I've seen my da go against six full grown men at once and win but Cuchulain's matching him blow for blow.".

"Cuchulain is one of the greatest warriors in the world," Morag said with a snort making him grin "not surprising given whose blood runs through his veins. The only one who can beat him with any weapon is myself and Scatach and I can only beat him with the bow, Scatach can outdo him with the sword and daggers.".

"While this has been fun," he said calmly as he felt the tip of the king's sword whistle through his hair "I think it's time to end it so I can finish breakfast…I'm hungry at that was some good mutton.". His statement finished he slammed his blade into the king's sword as he sent the larger weapon flying before holding the tip of his weapon at his opponent's throat. "That was fun," he said with a grin when the King raised his hands in surrender "I haven't had a fight like that since the last time Scatach went all out on me.".

"You earned it and you know it!" Scatach said with a laugh as she twirled a dagger, "Don't even bother trying to deny it!".

"It was an accident!" he protested "And I still insist that one of you lot tripped me.".

"What happened exactly?" Fergus asked as they walked back inside, the man moving awkwardly under the piercing gaze of the queen.

"He tripped and fell into my bosom." Scatach said with a snort.".

"But didn't you give a very…um…detailed threat for a man just propositioning you?" Merida asked "How come you actually let him get a weapon and fight back if he did that?".

"Accident!" he protested hotly as he flushed a brilliant red before grinning "And I guess I'm just special that way.".

"More like it's fun to have a target that can fight back and keep things interesting," Scatach said with a snort before she sent him a smirk "plus your flushed face was simply adorable as we fought.".

"Agreed." Morag said with a nod as he groaned.

"Oh great," he sighed "now they're both against me. What's next, are you going to recruit Merida as well?".

"They already have." The princess said with a shrug as Morag and Scatach cheered while he slumped and glanced at Aeron who shuddered at the girls reactions "We're doomed my friend." He sighed as the giant man copied his stance and all three men walked into the hall cowed.


End file.
